Oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses in pregnant women.

Objectives: Oxidative stress (OS) is defined as an imbalance in the production of reactive oxygen species and the capacity of antioxidant defenses. The objective of this work was to investigate OS and antioxidant capacity in pregnant women.

Methods: Parameters of the oxidative status and antioxidant capacity in serum and whole blood were evaluated in thirty-nine women with normal pregnancy.

Results: The assessment of antioxidants indicated an increase in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities (P<0.05 and P<0.01) and a decrease in ascorbic acid levels and the total content of sulfhydryl (P<0.05 and P<0.001). Additionally, when the pro-oxidant system was investigated we found an increase (P<0.01) in malondialdehyde and no significant change (P>0.05) in protein carbonylation.

Discussion: This study demonstrates that there is a change in the pro-oxidant and antioxidant defenses associated with body and circulation changes that are inherent to the pregnancy process.